Lucasfilm sues Star Wars-themed car wash for plagiarism

Walt Disney production company Lucasfilm is suing a themed car wash on the outskirts of the Chilean capital Santiago for plagiarising its multibillion-dollar galactic film and television saga Star Wars, lawyers for the car wash said.

Star Wash has shared videos on social media showing attendants dressed as Star Wars characters such as Chewbacca and a Stormtrooper wiping down bonnets, bounty hunter Boba Fett and hero Cassian Andor wielding hosepipes instead of blasters and Darth Vader appearing to use The Force to summon cleaning cloths.

The law firm representing the car wash said while owner Matias Jara was in the process of registering his brand with Chilean patent authority Inapi, he received a lawsuit from the franchise's creator, Lucasfilm.

Jara's lawyers said the US movie production firm wanted to block the registration of the name and had argued the brand could be confused as being affiliated with them. It has not raised issues with the attendants, they said.

Lucasfilm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jara is contesting the suit, according to his lawyers, who argue the name is sufficiently different from the movie franchise to avoid confusion and the production company's copyright, while covering products such as toys, furniture and non-alcoholic drinks, does not extend to cleaning cars.

“Of course this lawsuit is affecting us. We're a small business and we're spending on things we hadn't budgeted for,” Jara said.

He said his young daughter had thought of the wordplay while on a family trip to a Disney theme park in the US that features a Star Wars area.

“We don't make movies or sell their products or anything like that,” Jara said, noting his business was, however, a “stellar” car wash.